Meadowbrook Star News

Good afternoon, Meadowbrook Families.

This week our SuperStars learned about safe and unsafe touch and having a team of trusted adults. Our presenter encouraged them to sing their Tic-Tac-No-Go song at Thanksgiving dinner - get ready! 😁

Thank you for your cultural presentation and your attendance and support at International Night this week. It truly is a beautiful way for us to learn about each other. The games were fun and the food was delicious! BIG SHOUT OUTS to our Culture Club parents, the PTO, and our staff who helped in the coordination and execution of the event and stations.

Empathy Quote: "Let our hearts and hands be stretched out in compassion towards others, for everyone is walking his or her own difficult path." - Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Wishing you a warm and safe holiday with friends and family.

See you on December 2.

❤️ Ericka

We had our first snow of the 2024/25 school year. It was so exciting! Thanks for sending snow pants and snow boots. Per our district policy regarding recess, only students wearing snow pants and boots will be allowed to play in the snow.

Most of our students have black snow pants, and some visit other buildings in the morning before getting to MB. Labelling your child's belongings with their names will help us find and return them to their rightful owners. Thank you for your help in this effort.

All 3rd and 5th grade students will take sections of the CogAT test on 12/5, 12/6, and 12/10. The CogAT is one piece of data used to inform placement for 4th grade math and for 6th grade math and ELA. If you are a parent of a 3rd or 5th grader, you'll receive more information about the district's placement process via email on November 18th.

ATTENTION, D28 community! Help us plan improvements for our school facilities by completing a brief survey. Together, we can create future-focused learning environments for our students. Don’t miss out!

The survey closes Monday, Nov. 25.

Take the survey now: D28survey.net

The Board of Education approved the 2025-26 school calendar at the Nov. 19 meeting. The calendar for the coming school year will mirror this year’s calendar. The first day of school for K-8 students will be the third Wednesday in August, Aug. 20, and the last day for all K-8 students will be June 2 unless emergency days are used during the school year.

Winter break will begin Monday, Dec. 22, 2025. School resumes Monday, Jan. 5, 2026. Spring break will be March 23-27. Download the calendar at a glance below.

Dear Meadowbrook Families,

We are excited to present our Winter Sing and Art Show on Wednesday, December 18th, and Thursday, December 19th in the large gym. The art show will be displayed in the front hallway as you walk into the school. There will be time before and after the winter sing to stop and view the art show. You won’t want to miss it! The Winter Sing performance will be highlighting music and art inspired by the book, Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner and pictures by Mark Buehner.

Below are the dates and times for each grade level performance.

Wednesday, December 18, 2024
10:00 a.m. First Grade
2:00 p.m. Third Grade

Thursday, December 19, 2024
10:00 a.m. Second Grade
2:00 p.m. Fourth Grade

We look forward to seeing you at the Winter Sing and Art Show!

Sincerely,
Kathryn Finch, Music Teacher, Grades 1-5, kfinch@northbrook28.net
Diane Stein, Art Teacher, Grades 1-5, dstein@northbrook28.net

1st grade is so thankful. ❤️

5th grade students held a live performance of “Moth Story Hour” for the end of their memoir unit. This performance was inspired by The Moth Storytelling blog created by George Dawes Green.

November 25 & 26

• Teacher In-Service Days, No Students

November 27 - 29

• Fall Break

December 2

• Classes Resume
• Beginning & Philharmonic Orchestra Concert, 7pm, NBJH Large Gym

• Junior Band & Concert Band Winter Concert, 7pm, NBJH Large Gym

December 5

• Pizza Day
• Cadet, String and Chamber Orchestra Concert, 7pm, NBJH Large Gym

December 6

• Report Cards Go Home

December 11

• PTO Meeting, 6:30pm, Staff Lounge or ZOOM

December 12

• Pizza Day

December 13

• Spirit Wear Day - Favorite Color Head to Toe

REMINDER Order Pickups at the Village Green THIS Friday | November 22 | 2-6p Saturday | November 23 |10-4p

Thank You For Your Support

Thank you to everyone who purchased wreaths, coffee, candy, and spiritwear or donated to the D28 Music Parents Club through the annual Wreath & Coffee Sale. We exceeded our goal and are thrilled to continue to say YES to all the extras that our talented directors dream up for our musicians! This community is why we have been named Best Community for Music Education NINE times!

For all of the current happenings, check out our Fall Newsletter.

🗓️PTO Meeting (Meadowbrook or Zoom)

December 11, 2024 - 6:30 PM

To make our PTO accessible to everyone, the December PTO meeting will be held in the evening! We hope you can join us in person (Meadowbrook Staff Lounge) or on Zoom

🤝Family Service Project (Feed My Starving Children, Libertyville, IL)
January 18, 2025 - 2:00 PM - 3:45 PM

Register today to help turn Hunger into Hope! We are organizing a great opportunity to introduce our children to community service and the importance of giving. Click here for more information or register now. (use JOIN CODE = KPGMDM).

Meadowbrook Parent’s Night Out
Hangar Two, Glenview, IL
February 22, 2025, 7:00 PM - 10:30 PM

The Meadowbrook PTO invites you to a totally awesome Parent’s Night Out on February 22, 2025 and it’s all about the 90’s!

Grab your fanny packs, and get ready to get jiggy with it as we test your knowledge of all things 90’s at our trivia-themed fundraiser.

It’s the perfect opportunity to mingle with fellow parents, relive the best decade, and support our school. Tickets, which include food and drinks, will go on sale December 9th. It’s gonna be the bomb dot com!

🏷️ Mabel’s Labels

Our school is fundraising with Mabel’s Labels! This is a great way to ensure your child's items don’t end up in the lost & found or mixed up. To support our fundraiser, visit campaigns.mabelslabels.com and search for Meadowbrook PTO (Northbrook). You can pick out whatever labels or products you want, and it will ship for free directly to your house! 20% of all purchases benefit Meadowbrook School.

🎂 Birthday Signs

Self-service birthday signs are available for purchase until the end of the school year. You will pick up the signs from a volunteer's home, place the signs out in your yard for your child, and return the signs to the volunteer's home. Click here to purchase self-service birthday signs.

We want to thank everyone who generously donated to our Food Drive. Thank you to our volunteers that helped transport the donations from Meadowbrook to the Northfield Township Food Pantry: Danielle Kleinhans, Nicolette Sohilait, Adam Kongtham and Trina Gruner. And of course, thank you to Mona Mehta and Laura Jaeger who organized this effort, ensuring its success.

Stay connected with us on Facebook - MeadowbrookPTODistrict28

District 28 invites local non-profit organizations and community government agencies to promote events for families and children. Each week, some event are highlighted in the newsletter. View the complete list of events on the Virtual Backpack web page. To submit an event, please email the web-friendly flier to Terry Ryan, Communications Director. All fliers are subject to approval.

The Northbrook 12U Green Baseball Team is hosting a post-Thanksgiving baseball clinic on Friday Nov. 29 at The Yard.

This is a fantastic opportunity for 3rd- and 4th-grade boys and girls to have fun and enhance their skills on the field—no prior baseball experience is needed! We also encourage softball players to join in on the fun!

Don’t miss out on the chance to improve your game and meet new friends. We hope to see you there!

Register Here

School Districts 28, 27 and 30 are partnering with Cradles to Crayons for a charity coat drive from December 2-13. Please donate your new and gently used winter coats, boots, and accessories. Collection bins will arrive in December. Start cleaning out your closets now!

The districts are joining together to host a free community orchestra concert with musicians from all three districts at 6:30 p.m. on December 13 at Northbrook Junior High.

Enjoy a family outing to the Willow Hill Lights on Wednesday, Dec. 4th and $5 of your ticket will benefit Penny Possible, a Northbrook-based organization that provides comfort to pediatric cancer patients. Simply reserve your tickets for Dec.4th!

The Glenbrook North Student Association is partnering with a school district in North Carolina to raise money for their community that lost 450 homes during the hurricane. The district has 22,000 students and 3,800 staff members. The community can contribute by participating in two fund-raising events. Read the details in the attached letter.

For over a decade, the Rotary of Northbrook has been helping residents stay warm during the winter with its annual "Coat Off Your Back" collection drive. Bring new and gently used coats for children and adults to school. Donations will help refugees and homeless individuals.